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SIMPLE RECITAL OF THE LIFE AND DEATH 



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ILITTLE JENNY J 

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p By DR. MAjuAIn, of Gte^jsva. 

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p Translated for the Massachusetts Sabbath School Society, and 
p approved by the Committee of Publication. 



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5 BOSTON: 

MASSACHUSETTS SABBATH SCHOOL SOCIETY, 
Depository, No. 13 Cornhill. 

1849. \ 

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TEAKS AND CONSOLATIONS: 



SIMPLE RECITAL OF THE LIFE AND DEATH 



O F 



LITTLE JENNY. 

»"= p- y „ i, i mm,, I, nunm-rTT' 

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By DR. MALAN, of Geneva. 



Translated for the Massachusetts Sabbath School Society, and 
approved by the Committee of Publication. 



« ♦ ♦ » ► 



BOSTON: 

ajASSACHTJSETTS SABBATH SCHOOL SOOIETV, 
Depository, No. 13 Comhill. 

1849. 









• 






Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1849 3 

By CHRISTOPHER C.DEAN, 
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. 



LIFE /"AND DEATH 



o F 



LITTLE JENNY 



«♦»♦ » ■ 



11 God is faithful — He will with the trial, also make 
a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear 
it." 1 Cor. 10 : 13. 

" He will gather the lambs with his 
arm and carry them in his bosom. 
Such is the gentle and compassionate 
character of the good Shepherd ; of 
that benevolent Saviour, who placed 
his hands on little children and 
blessed them. 
1* 



LIFE AND DEATH 

Children ! come and see these 
words fulfilled, in the pious and short 
life of little Jenny. And you, Christ- 
ian parents, learn how precious in 
the sight of the Lord, is the soul of a 
little child, and with how many 
graces the Holy Spirit may endow it, 
if it has indeed been consecrated to 
Jesus. 

It was on the 16th of February, 
1840, that little Jenny was born, and 
on the 13th of January, 1844, that her 
spirit left this world. She had there- 
fore but a few days, scarcely four 
years, to wait on earth, before com- 
mencing a happy eternity in heaven. 

What a privilege did her good 
Creator bestow upon her ! Launched 
upon the vast ocean, this frail bark at- 



OF LITTLE JENNY. 

tained the port, after having scarcely 
struggled with a few waves. 

Here, and first, I ought perhaps to 
picture this lamb of the Saviour, as it 
were to your bodily eyes ; and I know 
they would have been charmed, since 
God had adorned her with all natural 
gifts, uniting the attractions of beauty 
of features, elegance of form, intelli- 
gence of look, and a harmonious, and 
touching voice. 

But what avails it to speak of the ami- 
able and accomplished exterior of this 
child, which excited admiration and 
drew from every mouth the exclama- 
tions, as it were, involuntarily; "What 
a child ! what an expression ! what 
peace ! what a celestial look and 
smile !" 



LIFE AND DEATH 

Alas, in doing this, I should interest 
you in what concerns this world ; and 
it is to what appertains to heaven, 
that I would invite your attention. 

I leave, then, that which " was dust 
and which will return to dust/' and 
once more say to you, " Come, and 
see all the Lord did for the soul of a 
child, and all he has also done in the 
hearts of those who received her from 
him, for a short time, and have 
restored her to him forever/' 

It is' the mother of this blessed 
child, who relates to you her simple 
and touching history. Listen, then, 
and with her, if you love God, give 
the glory to Jesus ; then say and re- 
peat, " Oh ! how happy is the child 



OF LITTLE JENNY. 

who knows the Saviour ! Oh ! how 
blessed is the mother who has taught 
her child to love Him ! " 

LETTER FROM JENNY'S MOTHER. 

My beloved father : 

I send you at last, some 
details respecting the short life of our 
blessed child. You will find them 
desultory and very imperfect ; but 
you will excuse all this, you, my 
father, who can so well understand 
my grief. 

Our beloved Jenny was blest of 
God, from her very entrance upon life, 
and early displayed that gentleness 
which was to become the prevail- 
ing trait in her character and habits. 



10 LIFE AND DEATH 

In her cradle, she never became im- 
patient, rarely cried, and quickly 
learned the meaning of the word, 
" Wait !" 

As soon as she could speak, her 
father and myself sought to turn her 
heart towards the Saviour, and his 
glorious name soon became familiar to 
her. I think she was not yet eighteen 
months old, when being one day in 
her father's room, she asked him, of 
her own accord, to pray to God. 

" Father, " said she, with earnest- 
ness, " prayer. Mother, " repeated 
she, "prayer;" and as soon as we 
were on our knees she knelt beside 
her father ; remaining silent and pros- 
trate while he prayed ; and afterwards 



OF LITTLE JENNY. 11 

when we rose, appeared satisfied, and 
as if she had really understood and 
felt all the happiness which the child 
of God finds in approaching his 
Father. 

Thus she continued till the age of 
two years; less forward, it is true, in 
many respects than other children of 
the same age, but already remarkable 
for the habitual confidence which she 
manifested in God, and in his power- 
ful goodness. 

Was she indisposed ? It w T as from 
God that she sought healing ; believ- 
ing and saying, as a thing very simple 
and which could not be otherwise, 
that the good God who saw her, 
would certainly cure her soon, if he 



12 LIFE AND DEATH 

thought best ; then waiting with do- 
cility, and without complaint, till her 
illness should be removed. 

How often did the entire confi- 
dence ; the simple and unreserved 
faith of this little child teach my own 
heart, and make me comprehend what 
it is to believe God's word ; to rest 
upon his promise ! No doubt, no 
uncertainty, no distrust, presented it- 
self to her mind ; what God had 
promised she was sure he would per- 
form : so that when one day, about 
the time one of my sisters was in 
affliction at the receipt of some sad 
news, and was weeping, Jenny ap- 
proached her, and said, caressing her, 
" Good aunt, listen ; I will comfort 



OF LITTLE JENNY. 13 

you ; — God says Blessed are they that 
mourn, for they shall be comforted. 
So do not weep any more !" 

See how the spirit of God mani- 
fested itself in her. — " The wind 
bloweth where it listeth and thou 
hearest the sound thereof, but canst 
not tell whence it cometh nor whither 
it goeth." 

It was about the time that Jenny's 
brother was born. This birth was 
a great joy for her ; she lavished on 
the new-born infant, from the very 
first, the most tender affection, and 
her heart seemed to enlarge and be- 
come still more loving. 

Every thing was for " this good 
little brother." She wished to give 



14 LIFE AND DEATH 

him all she had, and to share every 
pleasure with him. No jealousy, 
no selfishness were displayed in her ; 
to forget self entirely and be occupied 
only with " dear little Cesar," was 
her constant interest and pleasure ; so 
the sudden illness and unexpected 
death of this lamb of the Saviour 
were Jenny's first sorrows. She was 
astonished ; she could not at first be- 
lieve it ; it seemed to her that she 
must awaken the " dear little one " 
from his long sleep ; and when she 
comprehended the reality, she sighed 
as she said that God had taken him 
to himself. 

" My little brother," she would 
say, " is in heaven, and will not play 



OF LITTLE JENNY. 15 

with me any more !" Then she 
would sigh sadly, looking upwards ; 
but always with adoration. 

The death of her brother had a 
great influence upon her ; a rapid and 
almost spontaneous development took 
place in her character, already so 
gentle and so affectionate. She ap- 
peared immediately to sympathize 
with her father and myself; loaded 
us with caresses, and little attentions, 
and sought to console us by kind 
words. 

" My God i" said she, one day, as 
she was busy in my room, " do not 
take me yet, as thou did'st take little 
Cesar ; mother would be so sad!" 

She never forgot this brother ; she 



16 LIFE AND DEATH 

talked of him incessantly, and took 
pleasure in repeating, in her gentle 
voice, and with calmness, " My little 
brother is in heaven ; my little broth- 
er is happy ; he is singing hymns. " 

You see, my father, that tenderness 
was the predominant characteristic in 
this dear child, which manifested itself 
freely on every occasion. She was 
extremely benevolent towards every 
one, and her compassion for the poor 
required action. She must speak to 
them, console them, and succor 
them. 

Some little beggars were accus- 
tomed to come every evening, to our 
door, at dinner-time. So Jenny would 
take her bread, asking permission to 



OF LITTLE JENNY. , 17 

carry it to them. And if we some- 
times thought it expedient to send 
them away without giving them any 
thing, Jenny would suffer severely, and 
we were obliged to explain to her 
that it was for the good of the chil- 
dren that we did thus. 

The same thing took place in our 
walks. If I refused alms to a child, 
Jenny would say nothing, but would 
become sad, and turn several times 
towards the child, looking upon it 
with regret ; and as soon as we met 
an unfortunate old man, would say 
beseechingly, " now give, mother, for 
he is very old." 

Yes, she always showed herself 

generous. The charity which cometh 

2* 



18 LIFE AND DEATH 

from God, was in her heart, and the 
disposition of the child Jesus appeared 
then in this soul blessed of Him, and 
made her desire to give, not of her 
superfluity, or of what she valued 
least, but on the contrary of what she 
liked best. 

One day when I was preparing 
a box for some missionary families, 
it occurred to me to send some 
little things to the children, and I 
spoke of it to her father in Jenny's 
presence. She immediately ran to 
the closet where her playthings were, 
collected them, and throwing them all 
down at my feet, said to me earnestly, 
" Mother, there they are all, all for 
them ! You know, mother, that 



OF LITTLE JENNY. 19 

there are no shops where their mothers 
could buy them any;" and she was 
delighted at being allowed to send 
them her prettiest dolls, her book of 
engravings, her crayons, and some 
other articles. 

How often also, at table, when she 
had something on her plate which she 
loved, she would present it to her 
father, or to me, saying, " Take this, 
it is so good." And if we replied, 
" I have some already, dear child," 
she would persist, saying, " Yes, 
but not enough ; for it is so good !" 

But what shall I say of her delight 
while learning to read, and that, she 
would say, "In order to read the 
holy Word of God." She would pre 



20 LIFE AND DEATH 

sent herself for a reading-lesson, sev- 
eral times a day, and request me to 
prolong it. And what happiness was 
it for her, when she could read fluent- 
ly enough to comprehend something 
of the Bible ! 

Every day, also, before she had 
learned to read, her father or myself 
would teach her, or repeat to her 
some verses, from the Book of God ; 
and every morning, after family wor- 
ship, she would recite those she knew. 

She had already learned more than 
fifty. But there were some which she 
would repeat with heart-felt pleasure. 
For example these : " Suffer little 
children to come unto me and forbid 
them not/' " The foxes have holes, 



OF LITTLE JENNY. 21 

and the birds of the air have nests, 
but the Son of Man hath not where to 
lay his head ;" and she would imme- 
diately add to the latter, " You know 
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
who being rich, for our sakes became 
poor, that we, through his poverty 
might be rich/' 

It was of her own accord that she 
had understood and connected these 
and many others. Thus, if she w r as 
reciting the passage, " Come, ye chil- 
dren, hearken unto me, and I will 
teach you the fear of the Lord ;" she 
would immediately add ; " The fear of 
the Lord is to hate evil and is the 
beginning of wisdom. " 

What pleasure also, did this dear 



I LIFE AND DEATH 



. w 



child take in the stories of the Bible, 
with some of which she was already 
familiar. The entrance of our Saviour 
into Jerusalem, was one of her favor- 
ites ; she would relate it often, with a 
kind of transport, and her eyes w r ould 
sparkle with happiness, when she re- 
peated, " Hosanna to the son of 
David !" " Mother," she would then 
say, " I also say it to Him, and he 
also hears me!" 

Nevertheless Jenny was like every 
other child of man ; she had her de- 
fects, and often fell into sin. But 
God showed himself compassionate 
towards her, and the Holy Spirit 
rebuked and humbled her. 

One day she grew angry with her 



OF LITTLE JENNY. 23 

nurse, and even attempted to strike 
her. But suddenly chiding herself, 
she became sad, and throwing herself 
into my arms, said to me, " Good 
mother, pray the good God for me, 
that he will make me better. " 

Another time I was obliged to pun- 
ish her for a willful fault. She did not 
grow angry, or cry ; but on the con- 
trary, humbling herself before her 
nurse, said to her, " My nurse! 
mother has punished me ; but it is be- 
cause she loves me. If she did not 
love me she would not punish me." 

Alas! it is she who now teaches me 
this lesson ! She has left me ; God 
has taken her away and I bitterly de- 
plore her loss ; but I hear her sweet 



24 LIFE AND DEATH 

voice saying ; " If mother did not love 
me, she would not punish me/' and I 
say it to God ; and I believe it also. 
It is because he loves us that he afflicts 
us. If our Father loved us not, we 
should not be chastised. 

Jenny also knew, my dear father, 
some of the pious songs you com- 
posed for children. The story of 
Colinette especially interested her ; 
she often sang it, and like her, Jenny 
earnestly desired to do something for 
missions. 

You should have seen, dear father, 
how ingeniously she worked with her 
little fingers. Alas, I cannot restrain 
my tears, as I think what they are 
now. But God, yes my father, God 



OF LITTLE JENNY. 25 

giveth us the victory, even over 
death. 

Jenny wished to make something 
with her own hands for the " Missions 
to the poor heathen/' she would say, 
" who do not know our good Sav- 
iour;" and it was with all her heart, 
and with a perseverance which noth- 
ing could diminish, that she embroi- 
dered a pretty little napkin, which 
was to be sold at the end of the year, 
at the bazaar opened for missions. 

At last the napkin was finished, I 
sent it to the sale, and cannot des- 
cribe the joy of this dear and chari- 
table child, when I told her that a 
lady had selected it, and that with the 

two francs she had given for it, two 
3 



26 LIFE AND DEATH 

New Testaments might be bought, 
and sent to the poor heathen. 

I have already related what pleas- 
ure she took in her reading-lessons, 
and how impatient she was to read 
the Holy Book. This book had more 
attractions for her than any of her 
playthings, which she would imme- 
diately leave, as soon as I took the 
New Testament to hear her spell 
some words from it. 

" When I know how to read," she 
would often say, " I shall have a 
New Testament ; and when I am five 
years old, mother will give me a 
Bible. What a pleasure that will 
be!" 

She did not live five years on the 



OF LITTLE JENNY. 27 

earth ; but what a gift the Lord him- 
self has bestowed upon her, and with 
what ineffable pleasure is her soul 
now satisfied ! 

Benevolence, generosity, the hap- 
piness of those she loved, were her 
true pleasures ; and here is an affect- 
ing proof. 

Her father had told her, in the 
month of October last, that he w r ould 
take her to the fair, and that she 
should choose in the beautiful shops, 
whatever pleased her. 

Jenny jumped for joy when it was 
time to set out, but it was while re- 
peating, " I am going with father ! 
father will take me with him ! Oh ! 
how glad I am !" for the pleasure of 



28 LIFE AND DEATH 

being with her father occupied her 
heart more than the thought of the 
fair, and what she should bring from 
it. 

They were soon at the shops, full 
of a thousand attractive things ; and 
her father said to Jenny, " Choose, 
Mimi ; for I wish to give you some- 
thing/' 

"Father/' replied the child, "my 
friends L. have no work-box, like this 
pretty one. If you will buy it for 
them, it will give me much pleasure." 

The box is bought ; they pass 
another shop, and the father again 
says to his daughter, " Now, dear 
child, choose something for yourself. 
Let us see ! What do you wish for ? 
Tell me." 



OF LITTLE JENNY. 29 

" father!" replies Jenny, " my 
cousin has not a darling little doll in 
a cradle, like that. Buy it for her, 
father, she will be so pleased." 

The doll is then bought and the 
beloved little one tenderly thanks her 
father, and with much more joy than 
if the doll had been for herself. 

" But, my child," says the father, 
" I wish to give you something that 
will please me. Choose then, what 
you would like." 

" Father," says Jenny again, "moth- 
er has no ring to keep her keys on. 
She needs a little one and a large one, 
will you buy them for her ?" 

The rings were soon in the bag of 

the happy child, who jumped with joy 
3* 



30 LIFE AND DEATH 

at the thought of carrying them to 
her mother. 

At last, they arrived before a shop 
of articles wrought of the cocoa-nut, 
and the father again urged his daugh- 
ter to choose something for herself; 
and among all the pretty things dis- 
played before her, she requested a 
modest egg-cup, simple in its form, 
but which she carefully examined, 
choosing that of the best workman- 
ship. 

They then returned to the house, 
and Jenny came immediately to relate 
to me joyfully, all the pleasure she 
had just experienced. 

" Mother ! see what father has 
given me. This is for my friends L. 



OF LITTLE JENNY. 31 

This is for my cousin ; I should like 
to carry it to her now. And this is 
for you, dear mother ! And for me 
also, look. This is for me to use, at 
breakfast." 

I will mention another instance of 
the same kind, which will show still 
more plainly, how entirely God had 
detached the heart of Jenny from the 
things which might have pleased her. 

On the occasion of the baptism of 
Clement, she received as a present, 
from the hand of her godfather, a very 
pretty box cf sweet-meats. As soon as 
she had it, her first thought was to dis- 
tribute them around, and to offer some 
of them with eagerness to every one in 
the house, reserving very few for her- 



32 LIFE AND DEATH 

self, so that the box, though placed 
entirely at her disposal, remained 
several days, without being exhausted, 
and was so at last, only because Jenny 
entreated some visitors to take all 
these " good sweet-meats. " 

But, my good father, it is especially 
of Jenny's respect for sacred things 
that I ought to speak ; for it was this 
principally which showed the work 
which the Lord had already done in 
her soul. 

Her father had taught her the third 
commandment ; " Thou shall not take 
the name of the Lord thy God in vain," 
and she received it and obeyed it with 
so much sincerity and simplicity, that 
she would never allow any one in her 



OF LITTLE JENNY. 33 

presence to take the name of God in 
vain. 

Her nurse had this sad habit of 
using the name of God in a trifling 
manner ; but Jenny always reproved 
her, with as much sweetness as grav- 
ity, and the nurse succeeded in break- 
ing herself of it. 

" Nurse," Jenny would say, when 
she had spoken in this way, " father 
has taught me a verse which says, 
Thou shall not lake the name of the 
Lord thy God in vain ;" and while 
quoting this passage, she would em- 
phasize the word name, to make her 
feel that it was wrong to speak it 
lightly. 

So well did she comprehend the 



34 LIFE AND DEATH 

sense and the spirit of this command- 
ment, that one day when she was 
singing the little hymn : — 

" My God ! My Father!" &c, 

she said tome; " Mother, it is not in 
vain that I say my God !" 

And at another time as Clement 
was very sick, appearing dangerously 
so, and I was weeping over his cradle, 
Mimi, who was by my side, looked at 
her brother, and said with the most 
tender accent, " my God ! I do not 
say it in vain ! heal Clement !" 

The next day, as the little one was 
still very ill, and I was even more 
afflicted ; Jenny came to me, and 
wiping away my tears with her little 



OF LITTLE JENNY. 35 

fingers, said to me, " Mother, do not 
weep. Adore God !" 

How many times have I not heard 
her singing on awaking, "My God, 
my Saviour whom I love, heal Clem- 
ent ; heal my brother !" 

" Mother," said she to me, another 
day, "the good God is keeping my 
brother Cesar in heaven. Oh ! how I 
hope he will keep my dear little 
Clement on earth ! " 

This lamb of Jesus never took her 
repast, even if she was alone, without 
having prayed God to bless it. Only 
two days before her death, when a 
little sweetened water w T as brought 
her, she clasped her hands and said, 
"My God, I thank thee for this 



36 LIFE AND DEATH 

sweetened water !" And that was so 
natural to her, and so sacred, that on 
a journey, when she was with me, at 
the table of an inn, she would look at 
the guests, to see who would ask a 
blessing ; and when no one did so, 
would pray solemnly for herself ; but 
with no gesture which could indicate 
any thing but her simplicity and her 
adoration before God. 

It was during this journey, (alas ! my 
dear father, when I was on the way to 
visit my friends for the last time with 
her,) that Jenny often showed me how 
serious were her thoughts, when the 
Word of God was quoted. One cir- 
cumstance among others, struck me, 
and it was this. 



OF LITTLE JENNY. 37 

On our arrival at Cette, we went, 
Jenny, her nurse and myself, to the 
sea-shore. Jenny was at once affect- 
ed by the sight of this vast field of 
water, and while admiring it, I read to 
her from the Bible, and repeated sev- 
eral times, this passage : " This great 
and wide sea, wherein are things 
creeping and innumerable, both small 
and great beasts. There go the 
ships." She readily remembered this 
verse, and when we returned to our 
lodgings, turned towards the sea, re- 
peating with solemnity, " This great 
and wide sea I" and added with the 
same seriousness, " It is the good 
God who has made it !" 

I saw that she was penetrated with 
4 



38 LIFE AND DEATH 

the greatness of the work of God ; and 
I discovered the same sentiment in 
her, when having led her, at Geneva, 
upon the shore of the lake, she said to 
me, with solemnity : " Mother, this is 
like Cette. Do you see this great and 
wide sea which the good God has 
made?" 

It was then, also, (you will remem- 
ber it, my good father,) that this dear 
child gave us so many proofs of her 
profound respect for the Word of God, 
as also of her sincerity of her self- 
forgetfulness and tender kindness to- 
wards others. I will recall three of 
these circumstances which affected me 
singularly. 

A lady, one of our friends, called 



OF LITTLE JENNY, 39 

upon us ; and allowing herself to ex- 
press a sentiment of admiration for the 
beauty and grace of Jenny, suddenly 
cried as she saw her : " Oh, the ador- 
able child ! " 

Jenny, who was seated near me, 
immediately rose, and with caressing 
sweetness, said to this lady : " 0, dear 
lady, do not say so ! God only is 
adorable.' ' 

The lady was struck with this ten- 
der reproach, and said to me in a low 
voice, "What a lesson! No, I will 
never forget it." 

And it was thus that God perfected 
his praise from the feeble mouth of a 
little child. 

Another day, Jenny was present at 



40 LIFE AND DEATH 

a moment when her aunt, my youngest 
sister, had just manifested pride, and 
some resistance to an order of Mother's. 
Jenny immediately became very sad, 
and taking the hand of my sister, said 
to her with cordiality : " Good aunt ! 
do you not know that God has said, 
Children, obey your parents ? "■ Then 
this dear little one came towards me, 
who had been a witness of my sister's 
fault, and drawing me apart, said, 
" Come good mother, come and pray 
for my poor aunt ; for she must be 
very unhappy." 

She was one day in the garden with 
her uncle, my youngest brother, and 
the latter, whether playfully or inten- 
tionally, struck Jenny's right eye. 



OF LITTLE JENNY. 41 

The pain of this blow was apparently 
very severe, for Jenny uttered a loud 
cry which brought me to her assist- 
ance. 

" What is the matter ?-" inquired I ; 
and at the sight of Jenny's inflamed 
and swollen eye, I turned towards 
my brother to censure him severely. 
But the dear child overcoming her 
grief, advanced towards her uncle who 
was weeping, and said, " Uncle, do 
not cry, I beg. It is nothing, really 
nothing!" Then, turning towards 
me, she said, " Good mother, do not 
scold my uncle ; for you see how sorry 
he is." 

It was also at Geneva, dear father, 

and when I was in the garden with my 

4# 



42 LIFE AND DEATH 

good mother and Jenny, that having 
remarked that the latter seemed to be 
talking to herself as she was walking 
along, I asked her what she was 
saying. 

" I am speaking to the good God," 
replied she. 

" And what are you saying, my 
child ?" 

" I am saying that I also will go to 
my brother Cesar ; but not till after 
the new year/' 

These words, my dear father, made 
me tremble in spite of myself. I never- 
theless said to myself that it was but a 
transient idea of the child, and I tried 
not to think of it. But, alas ! when 
the event fulfilled her words, I under- 



OF LITTLE JENNY. 43 

stood from whence this warning came, 
and why my soul had been thus pierced 
by it. 

For at last, Jenny, our amiable and 
precious child, must leave us. The 
Lord, who had lent her to us, was about 
to demand her, and but a short time af- 
ter you had taken her in your arms and 
blessed her in the name of the Lord. 

Yes, Jenny must leave this world, 
to enter an abode where her soul could 
love and adore God without alloy. 

She had been ill several days, but 
not alarmingly so. The new year 
came, and as usual, many presents 
were bestowed upon Jenny, by us and 
other members of the family. 

This dear child was there before us, 



44 LIFE AND DEATH 

in her little bed, not desiring to leave 
it, still less to be dressed ; she who 
was so lovely, and who had been the 
joy and soul of us all, the sun of our 
little domestic festivals. 

We held our morning family wor- 
ship by her bedside. When it was 
finished, she gave a Bible to her nurse, 
saying, with a joyful expression, " My 
nurse, read it. It is because you have 
been good to me, that I give it to 
you." 

Then we brought her our little 
presents, but she paid no attention to 
them, and seized only yours, my 
dear father, the New Testament, in 
large print, which you sent her. 

She took it ; immediately opened it, 
and cried out in a transport of joy, 



OF LITTLE JENNY. 45 

" Father, here is the name of Jesus ! 
Here is also the word God ; Oh, how 
good my grandfather at Geneva is ! I 
will read it. Let me see ! " and look- 
ing over it herself, she stopped at the 
11th chapter of St. Luke, which she 
began to read, as far as these words of 
the Lord's prayer, Thy kingdom come ! 
Then she fell back, (for she was very 
feeble,) saying : " It is very beautiful, 
mother ! Oh, how I love this Testa- 
ment ! Please to leave it here, on my 
bed." 

In the afternoon, she desired to rise 
and sit in my lap. Some friends visited 
us, and each brought a present for 
Jenny. She received them all with 
much gratitude ; but said to me the 
next day : " Oh, my good mother ! 



46 LIFE AND DEATH 



I love the New Testament better than 
all my other presents. My playthings 
will be spoiled and broken ; and my 
sweet-meats will be eaten, and I shall 
no longer have them; but the New 
Testament is the way to heaven." 

Meanwhile this dear child recovered 
her strength and appetite ; she could 
even descend into the garden, and we 
thought, with gratitude, that the Lord 
had healed her. 

But the ways of God are not as our 
ways, and He who does all things in 
his great wisdom and infinite love, had 
ordained that Jenny, who belonged to 
him, and not to us, should pass from 
this world to her Saviour. 

Her illness returned ; it rapidly in- 
creased, and pain seized the whole 



OF LITTLE JENNY. 47 

body of our weak little lamb, who, 
always calm and submissive, seemed to 
suffer with resignation under the hand 
of God ; of God, my dear father, who, 
I am assured, softened the sufferings of 
this humble child, and gave her a 
serenity, and sometimes a gayety which 
charmed us, encouraged us for a mo- 
ment, but could not dissipate the fatal 
apprehension which filled ; alas, which 
overwhelmed our hearts. 

" Come," said my dear Alphonso 
to me one Saturday morning, " and let 
us ask God to perfect in us this sacri- 
fice." And the good God whose ten- 
der mercies are over all his works, 
enabled us to offer to him, unreserv- 
edly all that w T as most precious to us 
here below. 



48 LIFE AND DEATH 

Henceforth the strength which God 
alone can give, sustained our hearts, 
and we could contemplate the increas- 
ing progress of the disease, and the 
rapid decline of the life of our precious 
child. Yes, my father, the Lord, the 
Eternal himself, displayed his faithful- 
ness towards us, during those long 
hours of inexpressible anguish, and 
led us gently down into the gloomy 
valley of tears, where he deigned to be 
with us still. 

The good Shepherd then took care 
of his feeble lamb. As he had pre- 
pared her for heaven, he caused her 
also to enter there without agony and 
without a struggle. 

" Mother, I am sick/' said she to 
me, about three o'clock. 



OF LITTLE JENNY. 49 

"My child, in the fold of the 
Saviour you will no longer be sick. It 
is a great fold where one is always in 
health." 

" Mother, are there many doors to 
this fold?" 

" No, my child, there is but one, 
which is our good Saviour." 

" And there are sheep and lambs 
there, is it not so ? The lambs are the 
children, and the sheep are the fathers 
and mothers. Mother, when one is in 
that fold, one will not come out again V 9 

" No, never." 

" Is Cesar there in that fold ? " 

" Yes, my dear child." 

" And will Henrietta, and Valen- 
tine, and Clement come there also ? " 
5 



50 LIFE AND DEATH 



She was silent ; she was overcome, 
and a burning thirst consumed her. I 
thought then of the words of the Lord 
upon the cross, " I thirst," and I 
earnestly prayed him to calm that of 
Jenny. I was heard, for the thirst 
diminished, and soon after ceased. 

But her illness did not diminish, and 
this lamb was as it were overcome by 
it, yet she never ceased, and always 
with the same sweetness, to interest 
herself in those about her. 

" Clement is crying ! " said she to 
me. " Poor little one, he is sick. 
Go, mother, go to him ! " 

In the evening she asked her father 
to tell her a story ; and it was only 
religious stories that she ever listened 
to, or requested. Her father repeated 



OF LITTLE JENNY. 51 

that of Colinette, and when he had 
finished, she said, " Father, you have 
forgotten one word." " Which one, 
dear child I" " Thy love in her 
heart, " replied she. Then she asked 
again for the story of the little boy of 
five years, who had also a New Testa- 
ment. Then she added, " My dear 
grandfather at Geneva, how good he 
was to give me this New Testament, 
I must thank him." 

She was fast approaching the period 
of her decease, her strength dimin- 
ished, her eyes became dull, and her 
voice grew feeble. Then her father 
placing his hands on that head recently 
so beautiful and so active, blessed her 
in the name of the Eternal, and having 
embraced her once more, said to her, 



52 LIFE AND DEATH 

" Go, my daughter, go to our good 
Saviour, and bless him with all the 
happiness thou hast given us ! " 

As for me, I approached her, fixing 
my eyes again on hers, which were 
already vailed, and as I said to her, 
" My darling, my beloved one ! " she 
said, with vivacity, " Call me not thy 
darling, thy beloved one ! I have no 
longer a name." 

She apparently wished to say that 
she had a new name, and not those of 
earth ! 

A few moments afterw r ards she fell 
asleep, clasping her little hands, rais- 
ing her eyes to heaven, and calling, 
" mother, mother ! " 

Then by degrees, and without the 
slightest struggle, her respiration grew 



fainter, and terminated by a gentle sigh. 
Now, my beloved father, bow with 
us before the Lord, and ask him that 
we may always be able to say, with- 
out hesitation, " It is the Lord ! He 
gave ! He has taken away ! Blessed 
be His holy name ! " 

" Yes, my father, blessed be His 
name, and may his Spirit, the Com- 
forter, come to strengthen our hearts, 
and to point them, each day, each 
hour to Him whom Jenny loved to call 
her good Shepherd, her good Saviour, 
and of whom also, she would say, with 
so much earnestness, " His name shall 
be called Emanuel, which is, God 
with us." 

May He then be w T ith us, and in us. 
He who is the resurrection and the 



54 DEATH OF LITTLE JENNY. 

life, and who has filled with joy and 
felicity that soul which he has gath- 
ered into his bosom, yes, which he 
has introduced into the assembly of 
the just made perfect." 

The little body of Jenny has been 
deposited, by her father's own hands, 
by the side of that of her " dear little 
Cesar." The same stone covers these 
two deposits, so precious, alas ! so 
quickly recalled. May my soul, 
God, be submissive ! Yes, my father, 
may my mouth bless Him, may I shed 
my tears in His bosom, and may I ever 
adore Him ! 



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SCRIPTURE QUESTIONS. 

Vol. 1.— Ox the Epistle of Paul to the Romans. 
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